As Clear as Home

You want to get away, relax...you have a large family, a good sized group or you just want the feeling of home! You want to bring the dog, come and go as you please and NOT share a room! What are you going to do?  Hotel rooms at most family/group vacation spots can start at $100 a night and run into as much as $500. That's a room with at most double beds (sharing), a tiny refrigerator and a mini coffee pot with two packets of coffee a day.  Not to mention what my Father-in-Law tells is a common use for those coffee receptacles!   A story for another day!! What else can you do...OPTIONS!

In 2012 we wanted to take our 17 year old exchange student to Southern California for the Thanksgiving break.  We wanted a central beach where we could hover and stay for some of the days so our German sports fanatic could learn to surf and enjoy the ocean and that had easy access to the tourist spots we planned on going to.  Our first thought was to only stay four nights.  We would get a hotel suite with two rooms; $385 a night...eat out for all meals...$$$$$, and visit DisneyLand, Hollywood and the beach! It was decided that was a lot to do in a short amount of time, lots of money spent on who know what kind of food and still no Thanksgiving ~ American Style...something every exchange student should experience.  We not only needed more time ... now we needed a kitchen to accomplish all this.  We needed a house!!

I had previously looked at rental homes instead of hotels for some other trip but put it on a back burner...maybe this was the time to revisit the idea. If you remember from previous post, I am a planner...so I began to plan.  What I found was a big world out there that rents rooms both shared and not, apartments, flats, homes and mansions! Since this isn't about sharing, rather about comfort and saving I'm narrowing in on homes and apartments and what I have found!

There are numerous online sights for vacation rentals.  The most popular airbnb (the pioneer with homes of all prices all over the world), HomeAway (the most homes of any of the sites but more in the USA), Vibro (long term vacation homes with a US focus but growing in Europe and FlipKey (a TripAdvisor company). All have easy search menus and you can set filters to narrow your search to find exactly what you want. The other alternative is to look into local area vacation rentals.  Most places of vacation status have local rental offices.  

Each home comes with EVERYTHING you will need...just like home! Clean linens, towels appliances, dishes, pots pans...you name it!  It is just like walking into you own house but somewhere different!  Somewhere you want to vacation!

We decided for us and our exchange student we liked the idea of home. HomeAway it was!  Our extended vacation brought with it good friends visiting; spending a few nights and sharing Thanksgiving dinner.  We wanted something steps from Venice Beach, quiet, two or three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a washer and dryer and space.  $350 a night found us a great condo with two bedrooms (one huge with a bunk bed set, desk divider wall and another twin on the other side), great room with pull out couch, gourmet kitchen, 

dining area rooftop patio, BBQ, two full bathrooms and laundry room.

  The rental came equipped with bicycles, boogie boards, baby crib and beach toys (our guests had a 13 month old).  The apartment's owner even set up our exchange student with surf lessons and let him use a surf board all week long!  We had all the comforts of home, able to hit the beach Thanksgiving morning, walk back and get the turkey in the oven and back to the beach while it cooked.  This was the perfect way to enjoy a vacation!!

Another occasion last year was one of those celebration birthday's for Tara's Mom.  Tara wanted to throw big bash for her, her sisters and friends. Tara's Mom has a beautiful house that most would love to vacation AT!  We had to come up with a get away for these women that had WOW!

 We tossed around a number of ideas, different locations and settled on Bodega Bay.  The local agency there had numerous beach rentals.  We found a beautiful gem!  Two master bedrooms, two other bedrooms, four bathrooms, gourmet kitchen, gorgeous comfy living room,    

jacuzzi...the perfect place.  We could not have afforded hotel rooms for everyone in a place of this home's status! The house was certainly a looker   

 and for two nights we were perched at the Oyster Catcher celebrating Julie with friends, family, music, good food , wine and fun!  

There are homes for everyone and every budget and occasion.  In almost every city a home or apartment can be rented for less than a hotel. Even here in Chico, you can find them.  I have noticed that many parents of college students have found vacation rentals more economical and comfortable than staying in a hotel. Even if it's just for a night or weekend.  Many even take pets!  


Our trip to Germany and  Italy will be peppered with only two hotels our entire three week stay. The rest of the trip we will be staying in flats, cottages, and apartments found on Airbnb.  Not only did I save upwards of $100 a night...I get a washer and dryer (great since we are only taking back packs), my own kitchen for those midnight snacks and a taste of how folks live in the country I am traveling in.  

So whether it be a basic house in a country setting, a cabin in the snow, high rise or penthouse in the big city or a tree house out side of San Francisco, or a boat at Boston's harbor there is wonderful alternative to those boring hotels!  You can sit, enjoy your coffee and have a second cup if you want...you're home...away from home.  Give it a try!

And PS...it was going to be a surprise but obviously I am not good at them...I found a cute little cottage nestled directly on Stinson Beach where Fenway is even welcome...it will be our little home for three nights as we relax and celebrate Tara's birthday! I'll let you know how it goes!